2/7/10

Nothing fancy this time around, just some good old yummy kicked up brownies. I used the recipe from david lebovitz. Cream cheese with brownies, come on, it's way better than a plain old brownie. Never tried a brownie with cream cheese before, well I have, but it was awful. The cream cheese just melted away into the chocolate. Don't like that. If you're going to put cream cheese in a brownie mixture I am a firm believer you should see the cream cheese filling before, during, and after baking. Right? Good. So, that's why I tried Dave L's way--perfectly done, perfect pairing.
Note: If you want swirls, and just chunks of cream cheese, then swirl the cream cheese batter around more than I did. I love big globs of the stuff.
(remember when my oven died and I had to use my toaster oven? well, these brownies were made in my toaster oven. granted I have a convection toaster ovenfrom cuisinart, but still they came out great nonetheless. toaster ovens are handy little gems aren't they?)

Line a 9-inch square pan with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in the 2/3 cup (130g) sugar, then the eggs.
Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then the vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, the yolk, 5 tablespoons (75g) of sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
Distribute the cream cheese mixture in eight dollops across the top of the brownie mixture, then take a dull knife or spatula and swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set.
Let cool, then lift out the foil and peel it away. Cut the brownies into squares

45 comments:

These look delicious and your brownie pan looks too clean where the brownies were taken out. (meaning if I were there I'd want it to be messy so I could "clean" it myself!) lol. I'm now wishing I could have a cheesecake brownie when all I have is cookies. I'd take a brownie anytime!

I noted that you love Mascapone, here are some collected recipes for it:

Mascarpone does not involve "curds and whey" like other cheeses do. What you do with making mascarpone is merely lightly fermenting and altering the consistency of the cream. I enclose the two recipes I use, both authentic, both delicious, and as easy as falling off a log. You don't need a kit, or fancy ingredients, or even much time. Mascarpone takes 12-24 hours to set, but the actual work time is a matter of minutes.

Recipe 1 (Source unknown) You'll need 1 pint (600ml) of fresh cream, and 1/2 teaspoon of tartaric acid (available from pharmacies and some grocers). 1. Pour the cream into the top of a double boiler and place over simmering water. 2. When the cream is warm, add the tartaric acid, and stir until cream reaches a temperature of 180 degrees (75-80 Celsius). Use a candy thermometer. 3. Remove from heat and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. 4. Pour the mixture into a bowl lined with thick cheesecloth or a doubled-over tea towel, and leave in a cool place for at least 12 hours, preferably 24. 5. Consume within 48 hours.

Giuliano Bugialli's Mascarpone This is a sweeter recipe than the one above. Ingredients: 1 quart (1 liter) fresh heavy cream, 1/4 tsp. tartaric acid (available from pharmacies and some grocers) 1. Place cream in a glass casserole or bowl, and place casserole into a larger flameproof pan. 2. Add cold water to a larger pan. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the cream to a temperature of 180 degrees (75-80 Celsius). Use a candy thermometer), stirring every so often with a wooden spoon. 3. As soon as the cream reaches the EXACT temperature, remove from the heat, add tartaric acid, and stir with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds. 4. Remove glass casserole or bowl from the larger pan, and stir another 2 minutes. 5. Line a fine-mesh basket or strainer with thick cheesecloth and pour in cream mixture. 6. Allow to stand for 12 hours in a cool place or on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. 7. Prepare four 9-inch squares of cheesecloth. 8. Divide mascarpone in four. 9. Place a quarter of it on each square of cheesecloth and fold like a package, without tying it. 10. Place packages on a plate and refrigerate for another 12 hours before using.

sorry for the format, but I don't use outlook on my laptop. Not sure why? :D

After reading about Bobby Flay's Throwdown, I used this cheesecake brownie recipe several weeks ago to make goat cheese brownies. I just substituted an equal quantity of chevre for the cream cheese. Gives it an interesting lemony taste.

Just made these brownies and they were a hit with my family. I swirled the cream cheese mixture this time, but I think next time I'll just do the dollops. Thanks for sharing the recipe! I just started following your blog and I'm excited to try some of your recipes!

about vanilla sugar blog

Unique eats, creative recipes, as simple as possible.What drives me to create? Seeing dishes in restaurants, meals created on TV, recipes in cookbooks/online, and I always think to myself why didn’t they add this or why did they leave out that? Love to question, love to research, and love to learn about combining different flavors and textures in recipes.Recipe creations please email: vanillasugarblog@aol.com